


Looks Like an Angel

by WriteLikeTheWind



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Female Loki (Marvel), Gen, Not Thor: The Dark World Compliant, Post-Avengers (2012), Stark Industries, marvel AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24938212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriteLikeTheWind/pseuds/WriteLikeTheWind
Summary: He expected to be punished. He expected to be killed.But he wasn't. His fate was rewritten yet again.And now, Loki has been thrown into a world that no longer recognizes who he is.Set after Thor 1 and Avengers
Relationships: Loki & Thor, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	1. Prologue

Everyone knows Loki's story.

The jealous brother vying for power and respect. The survivor, emerging alive even when he was presumed dead. The villain, leading the alien invasion of earth.

The defeated, hauled back to his realm chained and guarded.

He expected to be punished. He expected to be killed.

But he wasn't. His fate was rewritten yet again. His story placed in his own hands.

No one knows Loki as a person. No one ever got close enough to even try.

And now, Loki has been thrown into a world that no longer recognizes who he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you [NPennyworth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NPennyworth) for beta-reading this fic!


	2. All's Faire!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In his defense, Tony wasn't entirely sure how he got into this mess. Everything had gone fine until a few minutes ago.

In his defense, Tony wasn't entirely sure how he got into this mess. In fact, the competition had gone perfectly fine up until a few minutes ago. Now, it fell to him to straighten out this mess before it got out of hand.

He quickly walked through a row of booths, all of which were in various states of being taken down. He barely noticed people staring at him. For once, he was completely focused on his current goal: locate and talk to the finalist. She'd left the scene much faster than he'd expected. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of green near the stage area in the large hall, and headed that way.

He entered the dim backstage area, which was a narrow corridor with a black curtain acting as one of the walls. There were a few people packing up, but many of them were just leaving. It didn't take Tony long to spot her, the finalist, sitting curled up in a dark corner. As he got closer, he saw her hands covering her face, fingers laced in her curly, reddish-brown hair.

"Um, hi," Tony said, trying to not startle her.

However, it was he who was startled when her head jerked up to glare at him. Her face radiated anger. Man, he'd almost call it a murderous expression. Seconds later, it transformed into a stormy, restrained frown.

"Go away," she half growled. Her green eyes shifted to the side, pointedly ignoring Tony.

Tony ran a hand through his hair, calculating his next move. He tried to remember her name. _Think. Was it Liz, Lana... No. Lucy! That was it._ Tony really didn't want to stay when he was clearly unwelcome, but.... He'd promised Pepper he wouldn't "bungle up" another big event like this. Pissing off the winner of the faire, and a new tech genius to possibly collaborate with, seemed to fit Pepper's definition.

Tony asked politely, "Well, I'd like to know what upset you. And, you know, whether I did something to upset you." He braced himself for the complaints. _I could really use a drink,_ he thought.

"You want to know..." the stranger whispered, thinking it over. Then, standing up abruptly, she glared at him, her anger rising to the surface. "Fine. Here's what upset me. It started out so promising. I came to this faire, the Innovator's faire, bringing my wares with me. Months of hard work was looked over and judged in a matter of minutes by so-called 'professionals.' There's speeches, a great deal of waiting, and then the anticipated moment finally arrives. The judges have come to their decision." The tone of her voice grew warmer and passionate, her anger momentarily forgotten.

To Tony, it seemed like she was going a bit off topic. I mean, he was just there - he was even one of the judges - but he decided to let her ramble on. Might as well see what this led to.

She continued, "The judges present their final scores, the announcer thanks everyone for coming, and then... They finally announce the winner. With my superior intellect and inventions, I am announced as the winner of the competition. The crowd cheers, and I walk across the stage to collect the elegant award." She smiled, more caught up in her own story than he was.

The smile fled from both from her face and her voice. She continued sternly, "Then, just as I am packing up my things and making ready to depart, some jealous buffoon walks by. One of the other competitors, I suppose. He can't stay quiet though, _no_ , no. He just has to open his mouth and say, 'You only won because you're a woman.'"

Eyes flashing, she turned to stare straight at Tony. She said with a smile composed of clenched teeth, "And, just when I'm about to go after him and his group and give them the rightful beating they deserve, some idiot holds me back and says 'they're not worth it.' Oh, wait! That was you."

Tony explained in a patient tone, "Well, I have to make sure that everyone at this event is safe, including you. It's my job. Not that it's my usual job, you know, since I'm usually fighting super-villains. Saving the world. But for today, I'm responsible for this event." Tony braced himself, his patience starting to wane under the force of the finalist's glare. His tone came out sterner than he expected, "I'm sorry that my actions upset you, but you can't blame the rest on—"

"Stop," she ordered, the abruptness causing Tony stop in midsentence. She peered at him with a very disconcerting stare, eyes clearly searching for something. Tony frowned, unaccustomed to being scrutinized in this fashion. A few minutes later, pure shock washed over her face. Her eyes shut down like a metal vault.

"What—" Tony started to ask. He didn't even get out another word.

"That's why you followed me backstage. That must be it," she said with grave certainty.

"I, um..."

"I mean, it makes perfect sense! This day just keeps getting worse, doesn't it. I'd be a fool to expect otherwise."

"What are you.."

"I mean, you couldn't let a criminal go, could you? I've been so careless, reckless! Thinking I could just waltz in here..."

"Wait, hold on..."

"And not have you recognize me. And you of all people. I mean, wasn't it enough to send me back? No, no. It wasn't enough to let them deal with me, was it?"

"I think I've lost..."

"You just had to see it for yourself. Well? Now you know! Now you can tell the whole world how far I've fallen. Are you satisfied yet, mortal??"

Lucy's voice, starting out as a hissed whisper, had turned into shouting by the end. Her intensity made even Tony shut up. Her words rang through the rafters, uninterrupted. Tony struggled to catch up, to piece together what she actually meant. However, it was the last part that did it for him. The words were too familiar, too similar for him to ignore.

Tony's stomach felt like it dropped 20 feet with the weight of the realization. His jaw followed suit. He felt like a firework exploded in his brain.

He exclaimed before fully internalizing it, "Loki?!"

Heavy silence dropped between the two. No one dared to interrupt it.

Then, the woman's face broke out into the brightest 1-million Watt smile Tony had ever seen. She let out a wild laugh as well, surprising him.

"Ha, did I ever fool you," she said with delighted glee, "You know, my friends call me 'liesmith', too. This is the first time I've ever fooled a genuine celebrity though. Wait 'til I tell them about it. I mean, that was so intense, and the look on your face—"

Tony was stunned into silence. He'd call it nervous rambling, but the lady showed no signs of being nervous at all. He was almost convinced. However, something in the back of his mind told him to not believe it yet. He needed to be certain.

Tony assessed that everyone had packed up, even the stage crew, and there was no one around except for Lucy and him. _If this is really Loki..._

He tuned back in just in time to hear her rambling come to an end. She said, still grinning widely, "Anyway... I should really head out. I've got to get back to it. Always more work to do, you know."

Partly hoping that his theory was wrong, Tony made his move. He took two swift steps toward her. Her reaction was immediate. Her smile turned into a tight frown, eyes hardening. She swiftly raised her hand in an peculiar, but unmistakable, gesture. Like she was about to perform a spell.

Tony cringed instinctually, expecting an attack, but nothing happened. No fire, no magical bolts, nada. It slowly dawned on Tony that her hand wasn't glowing. And that Lucy was staring at her hand in horror, as if it had been chopped off.

A moment later, her eyes locked onto Tony's. In one smooth movement, she thrust her arms back to throw off her jacket, then threw it in his face. She was gone by the time Tony untangled himself from her distraction. Gone, leaving no trace behind.

Except for her jacket. _Green,_ Tony thought, _of course it's green._ Left with no other clues, Tony thought it was probably a smart idea to look into this unanticipated situation. _Not that I'm super curious about what's going on with Loki,_ Tony thought, _But this encounter doesn't give me enough data to draw any conclusions yet. I need to know what's really going on. And, there's always the city's safety to think about. That's what Steve would say._

Rubbing his hands over his face, he thought over the mess he'd just gotten himself into. _I could really use that drink right now,_ he thought miserably.


	3. The Flowers were a Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony seeks out answers after his surprise encounter. And he gets answers, more or less.

A couple days later, Tony found himself in front of the door of Lucy Smith's apartment. Her new apartment, that is. She wasn't as easy to track down as he'd expected, a fact that annoyed Tony. All he had was her name and the address of her old apartment. He'd even had to talk with the old landlord, a lady who didn't believe in modern technology or the internet.

At least that interview had led him here. Tony was planning on setting up a citywide facial recognition program if that lead hadn't panned out.

_I have to be prepared for anything,_ Tony told himself as he stared down the unassuming brown door. He checked that his suit was online and ready to be summoned instantly. Again. Then, he hesitantly rang the doorbell.

It was a little surprising that it produced a ringing sound and nothing else. Nothing jumped out at him or attacked him or teleported him. I mean, this _was_ Loki after all. For a minute, Tony was sure he'd gotten the wrong address.

"Go away," a voice ordered from inside. A voice, Tony recognized, that belonged to the finalist of the competition. He was at the right place, after all.

"Hi, I'm here to talk," Tony spoke to the door. He had a strong feeling that Loki was looking through the peephole, observing him. He continued, "I'm not going to barge in or attack you or anything. But I need some questions answered."

The door remained closed, but one of the neighbour's doors creaked open instead. An older woman, hair pulled back in braids, peered out at Tony through thick glasses. He didn't want to cause a commotion yet. At the same time, he realized that Loki probably didn't want that either. _Okay, the direct route then._

"I'm just here to talk to you," Tony repeated, then raised his voice as he said, "I'm sure you don't want to make a scene!"

_Bingo._ The door in front of him opened up the slightest fraction. A single green eye stared at him intensely as she whispered, "You won't attack me? Promise?"

Tony said, "I promise that I won't attack you first." It would be idiotic to say it any other way. He asked, "Can I come in?"

After a couple minutes, the lady muttered, "Fine." She closed the door, and started unlocking it. By what Tony could hear, there seemed to be... four locks? Five?

This time, the door fully swung open, revealing an enigma of a woman. Her wild curls stuck out at all angles, in contrast to the modest, dark green turtleneck she wore. Her green eyes shone with unspoken fury. However, she stiffly shifted to the side, and gestured with a tight smile, saying, "Come in, if you would."

Tony had the impression that he was walking into a wolf's den, but he had to get solid answers somehow! _There was barely any information on her online. Just some forged records, and that video of the Innovator's Faire awards. So what? This might not be one of my best ideas... But, hey, I've lived through worse ones._

Once he was inside, Tony held out a very large bouquet of flowers to the woman. He didn't claim to be an expert on choosing flowers, but had chosen green flowers for the occasion. The bouquet was overflowing, as if someone had tried to fit a bit of everything in it. The lady's eyes widened in surprise. After a couple seconds, she recovered and silently took them from him. She reluctantly went to put them in a vase. The apartment itself was very plain, and had a couple unpacked boxes in the corner. Tony shifted uncomfortably at the front of it, unsure of what to do.

"Sit," the woman ordered in a firm tone. Tony chose the couch, settling in as the lady sat in a chair opposite.

"Tea?" she asked, in a very clipped fashion. Tony could already tell that she was impatient, and that he should get to the point.

"Uh, no thanks. Alright," Tony started, "So, I know that this is uncomfortable, but I need to talk with you because—"

"I'm not a threat," she interrupted. Her words seemed to be carefully rehearsed, "I have no quarrel with you or your team. I am not planning anything against you or this realm. And as you can see, I have been dealt with, but haven't been imprisoned. Not on Asgard, at least. There! Is that all you need to know?"

Tony blinked a couple times, still confused. "Well..." he started out more cautiously, "Not exactly. Good to know. But, ah, I came because I need to know why you're here. On Earth."

Confusion crept onto the woman's face, even though Tony was sure he'd been as clear as he could. She said slowly, "Hasn't Thor told you already?"

"No. Actually, he hasn't come back to Earth yet," Tony answered.

"Oh," the word fell out of Loki's mouth. She repeated in confusion, "So, you want to know why I'm here."

"Yeah," Tony said, deciding to try a different tactic, "Not that I expected you to be here. Or, you know, looking like this. Not that I'm complaining. Although, I'd have thought you'd choose a flashier form than this."

_There's a 50/50 chance,_ Tony estimated _, that I'll just get thrown out. But maybe she'll get irritated enough to explain what's actually going on._

"My... form?" she said with an air of confusion. It seemed like she was still processing the fact that Thor hadn't returned yet. However, Tony couldn't wait for her to catch up.

"Yes, your... your feminine form," Tony said, waving his hand in front of him. The woman - _Loki,_ he corrected himself - looked confused, but then her eyes lit up in understanding. It took her a few minutes to compose a response.

"This form, as you call it," she said, her tone becoming hard as steel, "is _not_ of my choosing. I didn't expect to be here. I didn't _expect_ to be this. It is a cage, and I have been thrust here to rot and wither and—"

"Whoa, whoa," Tony said hurriedly, putting his hands out, "Just, hang on a minute. Slow down a bit? I need the deets, not a dramatic reenactment."

_And.... now she's staring at me like I've grown a second head,_ Tony thought. _What did I say? She's not angry at me yet. Confused? But why.... Oh, wait!_

"The details," Tony explained, "I need to know exactly what's going on."

Loki's shoulders relaxed a tad after his explanation. She spoke more calmly, "Ah. Now I see. Very well."

She straightened up a bit, giving Tony the impression that he was in for a long explanation.

"Thor took me to Asgard to my trial," the words were bland, but her tone was not. At least she wasn't currently angry, just tense, "I was led to a private trial with Odin All-father. I didn't expect that. For my crimes, he stripped me of my magic and my title. He made it clear that I would be banished to Midgard, as a mortal, for an undetermined amount of time. Before enacting my punishment however.... He transformed me. He turned me into what you see now, the reason being that my exile might be less dangerous if no one could recognize me as the villain who invaded their realm. Then, he threw me down to 'Earth'."

"He... threw you down," Tony said in confusion, "Is... Is that a metaphor?

Loki stared at Tony, saying, "No. It is not. I fell to Earth. Transformed, alone, and without my magic. It only took a couple days to recover from the impact of the fall. I suspect that Odin had a hand in that. After all, he didn't decide to kill me."

Tony tried to ignore all the subtext behind that. Instead he said, "And... this form. It's a disguise so you can remain here on Earth?"

"Yes," Loki insisted, staring at him like he was an idiot.

"Do... Do you hate this form?" he couldn't help but ask.

Loki looked down at that, eyebrows crinkling together in concentration. She answered, ".... No. This form is... not the worst it could be. I didn't chose it. It is being mortal, being powerless, that I hate the most."

"Oh," Tony let slip in surprise. He dared to venture, "So.... Do you like being in this form at all?"

"Well, there are a few advantages to this form," she said in a lighter, teasing tone.

"Really? More attention? Pick ups at a bar? Manipulating people into helping you with stuff," Tony guessed.

Her smile broadened, "No. People are much more likely to underestimate me."

Before Tony could blink, Loki surged closer to him and held a dagger at his throat. Not touching, but close enough. Her expression had become closed off.

"Um, I—" Tony started to say.

"Listen," Loki ordered, "You will swear to not tell anyone about my current situation. You will swear to not use this information to harm me. And you will swear to Leave. Me. Alone."

Tony muttered in a level tone, "You can't kill me. We're in the middle of New York. My weapons are ready to be summoned in an instant. The Avengers, or Asgard, would come after you."

Loki huffed in annoyance, "I'm not going to kill you. I'm just making it perfectly clear that I'm a person who greatly values my privacy."

Tony held Loki's intense gaze. He answered in a measured tone, "I swear that I won't use this information to harm or expose you. I won't tell anyone unless I have to. If you aren't going to destroy anything while here, I _won't_ have to. But I can't really agree to your last point yet."

Loki's eyes flashed dangerously, "Why not?"

"I also came here to offer you a job," Tony said calmly. Loki's expression froze, then shifted to familiar distrust. After a couple minutes, she slowly moved the dagger away from him, and dropped it on a side table. She remained standing, and crossed her arms.

"A job," she said, in bland disbelief.

"Yeah," Tony continued, much more comfortable without a blade at his throat, "I came to offer you a job in Stark Industries."

_Man, that sounds weird even to me,_ Tony thought. The word that best described Loki's current expression was stunned.

Loki finally managed to get out, "Why? I don't have access to my magic anymore. This offer wouldn't gain you a higher standing in the eyes of Asgard, as I am currently banished. What use could I be? If this is an act of pity—"

"No, not pity," Tony hastened to say, already sensing Loki's anger building up, "Your inventions. They're revolutionary. After the faire, which you won fairly," Tony emphasized the word, taking Loki's sharp nod as confirmation that she hadn't cheated. He was already fairly sure she hadn't, since he was one of the judges after all, but it was a relief to have it confirmed. He continued, "I looked over your inventions, and I've got to say, even I was impressed. You have a sharp mind. I figured I'd extend an invitation to work together."

"You... You were impressed by my inventions," Loki trailed off, still in disbelief.

"Yes," Tony confirmed, then added, "You know, the whole point of the Faire is to look for new talent. New innovations. People, and projects, to invest in. Look, I'm just presenting you with an opportunity. You don't have to accept it. Just think it over, alright?"

Loki asked, sitting back down, "And if I was to work with you... What exactly would I be doing?"

"We could discuss some of your inventions, to start. And I can provide you with the equipment to amp up your projects. You know, upgrade them. I do need a guarantee that you won't use the labs to, you know, take over the world or anything. 'Cause you did invade Earth," he pointed out. Tony wrapped it up with, "It would be a unique position. We could write up a agreement."

Loki appeared to be thinking it over for a few minutes, her hands lacing and unlacing on her lap. Loki casually mentioned, "You do realized that not all of my 'inventions' are original. Most of them stem directly from Asgard's wealth of knowledge."

"Yeah, I figured," Tony said, just as casually, "Your point?"

Loki stared him down with one eyebrow turned up, "To put it simply, I stole everything I knew from Asgard to make technology that is far beyond Midgard's own capabilities. It is an act of disloyalty."

Tony said, "It's called ingenuity here. Technically, it's not a breach of loyalty since you're not currently a citizen of Asgard, right? Since, like, you were banished. It's just using the knowledge you've acquired to create something practical. And you did it in, what? Half a year?"

"Three months," Loki answered.

"Three months?" Tony repeated in surprise, "That's... Huh, I have to admit, that is really impressive. And I'm guessing they didn't just give you books from Asgard to work with when you got sent here."

Loki hummed in agreement. She pulled a hand through her hair, her fingers catching on the curly reddish-brown strands. Tony itched to start speaking, but restrained himself. He'd already finished his pitch. _I can wait. Not to mention, any minute that I'm not being openly threatened is a good one._

Loki responded after a lengthy pause, "I will think about your offer."

Tony stood up, taking that as his cue to leave. Tony added, "Take all the time you need.... Here's my contact information." He held out a custom business card to her. "You do know how to use a cell phone, right?"

"I do," Loki sternly confirmed, taking the card from him.

"Right, right," Tony spit out the words, inwardly kicking himself. _Way to insult her intelligence right after you praised her inventions. Nice one, idiot!_

Loki smiled, standing up as well, "Thank you for the flowers. They were...." she searched for the right word, "... a surprise."

"What can I say? I try to shake things up a bit," Tony said with a charming grin.

"So I can see," Loki said as she led him to the door. As soon as Tony was out, Loki closed the door before he could even say goodbye.

_Well, that went as well as it could. Better than I expected, actually_ , Tony considered as he walked to the exit. He smiled to himself as he recalled Loki's surprised expression at the bouquet of flower. _Not that bad a peace offering. I mean, hey, it did get me through the door. And back out, un-stabbed. Not that bad at all. I said everything I came to say, and got answers. The rest is up to Loki now._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having way too much fun with this AU! I really enjoyed writing the dialogue! These characters are MADE for bantering.
> 
> More coming soon!


End file.
